Bridgewater State University offers a course titled NSCI 521 Watersheds during the fall semester to train teachers on current technology used in watershed assessment. This interdisciplinary course promotes watershed assessment as a tool in environmental education and watershed stewardship. The WAL course and student projects emphasize hands on training in water quality assessment using computerized water quality monitoring, macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of river health and the use of ArcView GIS. The project goal is to evaluate the land use impacts on water quality in the participating school district's community. In the spring, following each team's project completion, the Watershed Access Lab Seminar takes place at the Moakley Center for Technological Applications at Bridgewater State University where school teams present the results of their watershed investigations.
Submissions from 2004
Monitoring Water Levels of the Headwaters of the Jones River (Silver Lake Regional High School, Kingston, Massachusetts)
Ten Mile River Study (North Attleborough High School, North Attleborough, Massachusetts)
The Agawam River Study (St. Margaret Regional School, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts)
The Quequechan River Project: A Study of the Effects of Burying a River Underground (Kuss Middle School, Fall River, Massachusetts)
Third Herring Brook Watershed (Norwell High School, Norwell, Massachusetts)
Turbidity: An In-depth Look at Long Pond (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2003
Climate Impact Study of Snow’s Brook, Bridgewater, Massachusetts (Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, Bridgewater, Massachusetts)
How Has Land Use Affected the Water Quality of Fall Brook (Middleborough High School, Middleborough, Massachusetts)
Restoring a Saltwater Ecosystem – Studying Midge Larvae Populations (Provincetown High School, Provincetown, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2002
Agawam River Study (St. Margaret’s Regional Middle School, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts)
Cochato River Study (Holbrook Junior-Senior High School, Holbrook, Massachusetts)
Indian Head River Study (Hanson Middle School, Hanson, Massachusetts)
The Effects of the Swan Pond Housing Development on the Long Pond Herring Run (Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts and Mattacheese Middle School, West Yarmouth, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2001
Agricultural Land Use and Water Quality on Sally Richmond Brook (Bristol Agricultural High School, Dighton, Massachusetts)
Drinkwater River Study (Hanover Middle School, Hanover, Massachusetts)
Evaluation of Sunken Brook, Dighton, Massachusetts (Bristol Agricultural High School, Dighton, Massachusetts)
Long Pond Study 2000-2001 (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)